This is going to seem a little morbid and I mean no disrespect to Mr. Sharon and his family but I couldn’t help but be struck by the apparent similarities to the Kevin Kline movie Dave. Here we have a leader who is, to put it generously, not universally beloved. He’s a tough guy, a "man of war", "The Bulldozer" with a reputation for taking a hard line with regards to the Palestinian situation.

Then, suddenly, he’s leading the peace process*. He’s disengaging in Gaza. And just as a potentially serious investigation into wrongdoing might have affected him he suffers a massive stroke and is in a coma from which his recovery is uncertain. Do you suppose that somewhere in Israel there is a guy who looks a lot like Ariel Sharon who has just decided to run for local office?

-B-

*Obviously I’ve over-simplified a lot of the details of Sharon’s political career and there are those who question whether Sharon was really trying to lead the peace process or destroy it. I’ll leave that debate to others.